I haven't posted in a long time but really feel I need to weigh in briefly about SOPA and PIPA. These two bills mean well as they are aiming to endonline piracy and protect intellectual propery, two things we should all be behind. Unfortunately, the bills - if passed into law - would threaten the internet in a variety of ways while doing little to actually stop piracy and copyright/ip infringement.

I'm no lawyer and this topic has been covered by so many websites and organizations that I think the best thing to do is point you to the best article I've found on the issue. The article was written by the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) and pretty clearly illustrates the dangers SOPA and PIPA would bring to the internet we know and love today.

Again, let me stress that I am very much against online piracy and absolutely think we need to find ways of preventing people from stealing digital goods, but SOPA and PIPA are not the way to do it.

A few weeks ago, details surfaced of a new bill that could hand the president of the United States the power to basically disconnect computers from the internet for emergency reasons.

While the bill isn't quite completed and the details remain vague, many Web outlets have been in an uproar - fearing the expansion of governmental control of the internet. Unlike most other bloggers and internet news reporters, I'm actually quite comfortable with the president having emergency power over the internet. Sure, such power could be abused and there's always the "slippery slope" argument, but people need to realize the president already has similar power in other areas of our life and that power is there for a reason.

Before I go one, let me assure you that I am generally for a smaller government that has less power and control. My feelings are that the government should exist soley to protect us and to keep things running smoothly while interfering as little as possible. With that said, I don't mind the president having the ability to turn off parts of the internet if it's deemed an emergency and a security risk. continue reading...